'Star Wars' robotic arm for amputees approved for sale in US

An advanced robotic arm for amputees that can perform complex tasks has been approved for sale in the United States.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it has allowed the sale of the DEKA Arm System - dubbed Luke for the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker - after reviewing data, including a US Department of Veterans Affairs study.

The study found 90 per cent of people who used the device were able to perform complex tasks that involved multiple, simultaneous movements.

These include using keys and locks, feeding themselves, using zippers and brushing and combing hair.

The prosthetic arm is controlled by electrodes that pick up muscle contractions in the wearer to send signals to a computer in the device.

It was developed by New Hampshire-based DEKA Research and Development Corp, founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and other devices.

The Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) says it provided more than $42 million in funding to DEKA to develop the robotic arm as part of a $106 million project to improve prosthetics.

The Pentagon's involvement came about because of the type of injuries sustained by US troops in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Pentagon says more than 1,800 US service members underwent major limb amputations as a result of injuries sustained in those wars.

A program manager in DARPA's biological technologies office, Justin Sanchez, says the arm was designed to produce near-natural upper extremity control to injured people who have suffered amputations.

"This arm system has the same size, weight, shape and grip strength as an adult's arm would be able to produce," he said.

Mr Sanchez says that until now the best technology available to troops and others who have lost an arm is a metal hook.

"The metal hook was the most commonly used prosthetic device for the last hundred years," he said.

"This prosthetic limb system can pick up objects as delicate as a grape, as well be able to handle very rugged tools like a hand drill."

The FDA says the robotic arm could be used by people with limb loss occurring at the shoulder joint, mid-upper arm or mid-lower arm, but not at the elbow or wrist joint.